Senior Pets Might Have a Message For You

Most of you know that Jasper is the senior (elder) dog on this blog and in my home. Here he is posing at the top of the stairs just a few months ago, when he was still allowed upstairs.

He’ll be ten in December and aside from a slowly deteriorating back end – his two hind legs are not as strong as they used to be; although he can still move on his own, he relies more on his front legs to take him where he wants to go.

We’ve convinced him that he’s better off sleeping downstairs. Not such a good idea to have him traipsing up and down the stairs these days. He did manage to sneak up once which just goes to show that what hasn’t changed is his stubborn streak …

We’ve upped his meds. In addition to the over-the-counter, generic buffered aspirin, he’s got a prescription pain killer added to the mix.

He still carries his toys around, can get outside on his own and is still as fussy an eater as he ever was. Some things don’t change.

As November has been acknowledged to be “Adopt a Senior Pet” month, we thought we’d tip our hat to the individuals and families – including ourselves – who already live with elder dogs. We live with two … some of you already knew that.

Josephine is a pretty spry 13 year old. She’s got a heart murmur but, it doesn’t seem to bother her.

Like Jasper, she sleeps a lot during the day. But, she’s up like a shot when you ask her if she wants to go outside and she’s still faster than Tessa when it comes to chasing squirrels in the back yard.

Having elder dogs kind of sneaks up on you. Seems like just yesterday when we were driving back from New Paltz with a 12 week old Jasper bundled up in the back seat of the car. And, I swear that it wasn’t that long ago when one of my dearest friends in the whole wide world sent me home with Josephine – she was three.

So, back to the topic at hand: adopting senior elder dogs. Just like their younger cousins, elder dogs will speak to your heart if you are open to what it is they have to say. [gplus count=”true” size=”Medium” ]